Flowers & Cakes

As the good weather continues, our walk this morning, showed up some more Spring flowers. Small and delicate and a light shade of pink, I refer to a pretty flower called 'Lady's Smock'- Cardamine pratensis.

Also known as Cuckoo flower, it is in fact a member of the cabbage family! Thought to be unlucky if picked and brought indoors it is not included in traditional May-day garlands. It was also thought to be sacred to the fairies.
At the polar opposite of the beauty scale is this strange-looking object...

In this case a fungus known as King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica) due to it's resemblance to burnt 'buns'. They can be used as tinder. When dried and set alight, they can be difficult to extinguish and pieces can be broken off to ignite further fires.